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Richard Avedon Self-Portrait

Richard Avedon Self-Portrait
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Richard Avedon, 15 May 1923 - 1 Oct 2004
Sitter
Richard Avedon, 15 May 1923 - 1 Oct 2004
Date
1978
Type
Photograph
Medium
Dye transfer print
Dimensions
Image: 36.1 x 26.9cm (14 3/16 x 10 9/16")
Sheet: 38.4 x 29.1cm (15 1/8 x 11 7/16")
Mat: 71.1 x 55.9cm (28 x 22")
Topic
Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses
Equipment\Camera
Self-portrait
Richard Avedon: Male
Richard Avedon: Visual Arts\Artist\Photographer
Richard Avedon: Visual Arts\Artist\Photographer\Fashion photographer
Richard Avedon: Visual Arts\Art director
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© The Richard Avedon Foundation
Object number
NPG.93.94
Exhibition Label
The name of Richard Avedon is synonymous with fashion photography. His imaginative, original camera work revolutionized the industry of fashion and modeling, and his images quickly gained recog- nition as art. He also created other forms of portraiture, revealing likenesses of celebrated Americans, such as Marilyn Monroe and Janis Joplin, or other people whom he found interesting. Often choosing to create photographs in series, Avedon’s well-known feature in Rolling Stone (1976), "The Family," featured unidealized portraits of a group of powerful elites. In 1978, he made this self-portrait for the cover of Newsweek, on the occasion of a major retrospective exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Avedon was known for his insightful portrayals, but in this instance, he reveals very little of himself and chooses to look beyond the viewer, as though focusing his camera on another subject entirely.
El nombre de Richard Avedon es sinónimo de fotografía de alta costura. Su trabajo imaginativo y original revolucionó la industria de la moda y el modelaje, y sus imágenes pronto fueron reconocidas en el ámbito del arte. También hizo otros tipos de fotos, dejándonos retratos elocuentes de celebridades como Marilyn Monroe y Janis Joplin u otras personas que encontraba interesantes. Avedon optaba con frecuencia por las fotos en serie, como la conocida "The Family" publicada en Rolling Stone (1976), compuesta por retratos poco idealizados de la élite que sustentaba el poder en el país para esa época. En 1978 Avedon hizo este autorretrato para la portada de Newsweek en ocasión de una importante exposición retrospectiva de su obra en el Metropolitan Museum of Art de Nueva York. A pesar de tener fama por la perspicacia de sus imágenes, en este caso Avedon revela muy poco de sí mismo y opta por dirigir la mirada más allá del observador, como si enfocara su cámara en un sujeto completamente ajeno.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view